Like most little kids, one of my absolute favorite foods growing up was pizza. Eight-year-old Meg could GET DOWN with some Hawaiian Pizza Hut pan pizza anytime, anywhere. And also like most little kids, my tastes have changed as I’ve grown older – more wood-fired thin crust with fancy meats and cheeses than greasy shredded mozzarella on an even greasier crust. But when it comes down to it, I have truly yet to meet a pizza that I didn’t prefer to most other things. From hearty and heavy deep dish (I am a Chicagoan, after all) to cracker thin crust with a delicate spattering of toppings, I love them all and could easily eat pizza every day. So considering how much I love to cook and bake, it surprises even me that I’d never attempted my own pizza crust before.
I have nothing to blame but a lack of preparation and, admittedly, slight intimidation (and a pre-made crust I’ve found that I love didn’t help matters). So, determined to tackle this imaginary hurdle and create one of my absolute favorite foods, I took to my usual weekly online recipe search. I prefer whole-wheat crust for both the heartier taste and the I-can-totally-eat-five-slices-because-it’s-whole-wheat “health benefits,” so that was a no-brainer. I looked through a couple of recipes and quickly found a whole-wheat pizza crust recipe that sounded amazing and had the reviews to back it up.
The great thing about pizza dough (and most types of homemade bread, in general) is that the only “hard” parts are 1) having enough patience and time to allow the dough to rise, and 2) accepting serenely that you are going to get flour all up on EVERYTHING in your kitchen. Thus, I would not recommend making this on a Wednesday after work like I did (unless you love eating at 10:30pm and cleaning a messy kitchen afterwards) but in general, as long as you aren’t in a rush and are zen about the flour situation, making homemade bread/dough/anything is totally unintimidating and completely rewarding.
First, you mix yeast, sugar, and warm water together and let the yeast do its bubbly, science-y thing. Then you add olive oil, salt, and a mix of whole-wheat and regular flours for the perfect mix of taste, consistency, and healthfulness (although you could adjust to make it all whole-wheat or all all-purpose, if you’d prefer). You roll it all together and let it hang out in an oiled bowl for an hour. Then, once it’s doubled, you re-form it into a tight ball, and let it hang again, this time for about 45 minutes. Finally, after about 2 hours of not-working, you have homemade pizza dough, ready to be rolled out and topped with whatever you want!
Now that the carb part of the situation is taken care of, we get to the second most important part: toppings! Inspired by the new incredible produce section of our new go-to market, I opted for a massive helping of summer produce: cherry tomatoes, red bell pepper, fresh corn, and fresh basil, topped off with onion, garlic, and two types of cheeses. (And yes, the inspiration was called “Farmers Market Pizza.” I’m hopeless.) The combination was out of this world, between the lightly honeyed, perfectly thick and chewy whole-wheat pizza crust, the gooey fresh mozzarella and salty Parmesan, and the sweet crunch of fresh summer veggies. This was the perfect summer pizza, and I can’t wait to explore different pizza combinations as we move into fall and winter.
- 1 tsp white sugar
- 1 ½ cups warm water (approx. 110°F)
- 1 tbsp active dry yeast
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 cups whole-wheat flour
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 cups onion, sliced into thin half-moons
- 1 tsp fresh thyme, chopped
- 2 cups red bell pepper, thinly sliced
- 5 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 1 cup fresh corn kernels (cut from 2 ears)
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- Cooking spray
- 5 oz thinly sliced fresh mozzarella
- 1/3 cup (1.5 oz) grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1/3 cup basil leaves, cut into a chiffonade
- First, make the dough: In a large bowl, dissolve the sugar into the warm water. Sprinkle the yeast over the top and let it stand for approximately 10 minutes, until it’s foaming. Add the olive oil and salt to the yeast mixture; stir. Next, mix in the whole-wheat flour and 1 cup of the all-purpose flour, and knead it all together until all of the flour has been absorbed and the dough is smooth. This will take about 10 minutes. Put the dough into an oiled bowl (I just cleaned out the one I used before and oiled it) and turn to make sure the entire surface is coated. Cover loosely with a towel and let it stand in a warm place until it has doubled in size. This will take about 1 hour.
- After 1 hour, lightly flour a clean surface and tip the dough out onto it. Re-form the dough into a tight ball, and put it back into the bowl and cover again. Let it rise again for about 45 minutes until it has again doubled in size.
- Meanwhile, make the toppings: Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil to the pan, swirling to coat, and add the onion and thyme. Cook for about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the bell pepper and garlic; cook for 2 minutes, continuing to stir occasionally. Next, add the corn, salt, and black pepper to the pan; cook for 1 minute more.
- To assemble: Preheat your oven to 425°F. Roll the dough with a rolling pin until it is as thin as possible. Drape the dough over your fisted hands and gently stretch the edges outward while rotating the crust to get the desired shape/size.
- Spray a baking pan with cooking spray. Place your dough on the pan. Add the mozzarella evenly over the dough, and then spread the veggie mixture over the mozzarella. Sprinkle the shredded Parmesan over the top, and bake for about 16-18 minutes. Remove the pizza and add the cherry tomatoes; bake an additional 3-5 minutes until the crust is browned. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with the chopped basil.
- Topping recipe adapted from Cooking Light (http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/local-farmers-market-pizza-50400000113772/)
[…] I want organic lamb sausage and sweet, soft caramelized onions and thinly sliced prosciutto. I want fresh corn and tomatoes on whole-wheat crust. I want breakfast on my pizza, complete with a runny egg and bacon and chives. See? Total pizza […]